1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic mail applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, it is well known to send and receive electronic messages, or xe2x80x9ce-mailxe2x80x9d, via computer. Additionally, it is also well known that an e-mail message can be sent to a recipient with one or more attachments. Attachments can include, for example, files, folders, pictures, documents, or the like. Attachments are not usually a part of the body of the original e-mail message, but are separately stored and transmitted files that are made up of additional pictures, documents, etc. that are received with the original message. Attachments are most commonly represented, for example, by an icon at the end of the message. To view the contents of an attachment, the attachment must be separately selected and opened. This opens a separate window containing the contents of the file forming the attachment, and may require opening a separate application program.
Generally, when an e-mail message is sent, the sender has the ability to send the message not only to a primary recipient, but also to send the message to any number of secondary recipients. This function is commonly known as a xe2x80x9ccarbon copyxe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cccxe2x80x9d, function, so named from the days when carbon paper was used to make duplicate copies of documents.
Oftentimes, attachments are, or contain, large files. Thus, when a user sends an e-mail message with an attachment, that message can consume a great deal of transmission space on the mail server used to deliver the e-mail message and/or storage space on the recipient""s computer. Furthermore, when the user sends the e-mail message to several secondary recipients, and needlessly includes the attachment, the amount of available server space is unnecessarily decreased. This decrease in available server space not only slows the processing of the message that is being sent, but it also slows the processing of any other messages that may simultaneously be crossing the network.
Although it is extremely convenient to send an e-mail message with an attachment to a primary recipient and xe2x80x9cccxe2x80x9d that same message to any number of secondary recipients, the secondary recipients do not always need to receive the attachment that is sent to the primary recipient. The secondary recipients may, for example, already have the attachments or may only need to know that an e-mail message was sent to the primary recipient, and thus do not need to receive the attachments sent to the primary recipient.
For instance, a project manager may need to be notified by e-mail that a particular document has been completed and sent to a client. The project manager, as the primary recipient of the e-mail message, may also need to have a copy of the document. Accordingly, the e-mail message to the project manager must include the document as an attachment. However, there may be others working on the same project who only need to know that the particular document has been completed and sent to the client.
Therefore, an e-mail option that allows the user to xe2x80x9ccc: without attachmentsxe2x80x9d avoids or reduces sending unnecessarily large e-mail messages. Thus, the user can send an e-mail message to the project manager with the document sent as an attachment. Then, the user can xe2x80x9ccc: without attachmentsxe2x80x9d that message to the remaining project teammates. In this manner, the user will inform the project teammates that the required document was sent without needlessly consuming space on the server, unnecessarily slowing the e-mail messages, and/or unnecessarily consuming storage space on the secondary recipients"" computers.
Additionally, not all secondary recipients are able to receive or handle attachments, especially if the attachments are large files. For example, a user may know that a particular secondary recipient accesses that user""s e-mail over a wireless connection. In that instance, the user may wish to send an e-mail message to that particular secondary recipient without including any attachments. Thus, the user avoids needlessly impairing that secondary recipient""s ability to wirelessly interact while an unnecessary attachment downloads. Furthermore, some e-mail service providers, such as, for example, Juno(trademark), do not allow for the transmission of attachments with e-mail messages. Thus, a user can avoid sending files as attachments when the attachments will not be received by a particular secondary recipient.
Accordingly, this invention provides systems, methods, and graphical user interfaces that allow e-mail users who want to alert persons other than a primary recipient that an e-mail message or a given piece of information has been sent to the recipient, but who do not want or need to include attachments intended only for the primary recipient.
This invention separately provides a user with an e-mail option that allows the user to xe2x80x9ccc: without attachmentsxe2x80x9d an e-mail message.
This invention separately provides apparatuses and methods to decrease the amount of space that a given xe2x80x9cccxe2x80x9d e-mail message consumes on an e-mail server.
This invention separately provides apparatuses and methods to increase the speed and efficiency of e-mail service.
This invention separately provides apparatuses and methods for an e-mail option that allows the user to xe2x80x9ccc: without attachmentsxe2x80x9d an e-mail message having a substantially simple and user-friendly design.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments.